Top Ten Tuesday – Top Ten Books I’ve Read So Far In 2013

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday, a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish­, has the theme ‘top ten books I’ve read so far in 2013’. This is the first time I’ve done a Top Ten Tuesday blog, but I hope to continue from now on! So, here it goes. I’ll start with number ten and work my way up to my absolute favourite of the year so far at number one.

10.

Remember Me? By Sophie Kinsella

Sophie Kinsella is such a charming and funny author, and I love all of the books I’ve read of hers so far. Remember Me? definitely makes it into my top ten of the year so far. Find it on Goodreads here.

9.

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

I enjoyed Warm Bodies and its movie, even though they are pretty damn weird. Overall, the underlying story is intriguing and imaginative, but the characters lack a little something. You can read my full review of Warm Bodies here.

8.

Requiem by Lauren Oliver

Now, I’m putting Requiem in this list despite the fact that it really, really frustrated me. It’s the conclusion to the Delirium trilogy, but it doesn’t really conclude anything at all. I still feel a little bit mad at Lauren Oliver. Nevertheless, there’s no denying that the Delirium trilogy has been a literary highlight for me this year (as you’ll gather from the rest of this blog post) so it’s settled in at number seven in my Top Ten Tuesday this week.

If you fancy it, you can check out my review of Requiem here. I should warn you, though, it’s a bit of a rant.

Also, I had the pleasure of meeting Lauren Oliver this year (before I had finished reading Requiem, luckily for her) so you can read all about that little encounter here.

7.

Looking For Alaska by John Green

Prior to 2013, I had never read any of John Green’s novels, but Tumblr, WordPress and Twitter kept telling me to dive into one so I caved in. I’m glad I did though, because they really are brilliant. I think I get what all the fuss is about now.

Looking for Alaska was the second of the two John Green’s I’ve read so far, and it comes in just behind Paper Towns in my list today. However, I’d say they probably deserve to share a spot at number six. The characters are divine and the storylines are thought-provoking and heartbreakingly believable.

As mentioned above, I was a total John Green newbie before tucking in to Paper Towns. I wrote in my review that it’s not a book that will stay in my mind forever, but actually, it’s hanging on in there reasonably well at the moment, which is impressive considering how terrible my memory is.

Again, the characters and their development is what really gives Paper Towns its appeal. They’re just so brilliantly written. Definitely one of my favourites of the year so far.

5.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Delirium, the first in the trilogy, is a captivating way to introduce the reader into Lena’s world and the adventure she embarks on. It’s a little slow, I think, but it’s beautifully written, and its sequel is a real treat.

Billy and Me is Giovanna Fletcher’s debut novel and it’s a bloomin’ good one at that. Even though I found myself getting increasingly frustrated with the characters at times during the story, I realise that’s because it’s so true to life, and often, life is frustrating too. Billy and Me is oozing with charm, just like Billy Buskin himself, not to mention the gorgeous Giovanna.

I hear she’s just about to hand over the first draft of book two. Exciting!

Before I Fall was the first book I read this year and it’s a sensational. It’s so good. If you haven’t read it, you definitely, definitely should. As well as kick-starting 2013’s read list, it also triggered my love for Lauren Oliver. Even though I’m still mad at her.

The structure of Before I Fall is genius and the entire novel keeps you guessing until the very last page.

A Million Suns is such a great book. I think this series is a bit of a hidden gem. I haven’t seen much hype about it around the web but I have fallen in love with it. The first in the series, Across The Universe, is also fantastic, and I can’t wait to read more. A Million Suns is a perfectly blended mix of sci-fi, dystopian, romance and mystery and it has more unexpected twists and turns than my nan’s driving. Just don’t let the cover put you off.

I know it’s a bit odd to put the second book in a trilogy at the number one spot in this list, but Pandemonium, Delirium book two, is definitely my favourite book of the year so far, despite Requiem’s letdown of an ending.

I couldn’t put Pandemonium down. It was totally unexpected and kept my heart squeezing in my chest the whole way through. The then and now structure of Pandemonium is incredible and the cliff hanger at the end of it is killer too. Bloody brilliant book.

21 Comments

I’ve read Warm Bodies, Before I Fall and the Delirium trilogy, and agree they’re fab books. Interesting that you put Pandemonium first (team Julian, by any chance? 🙂 ). Delirium’s my favourite, but Pandemonium was great too — completely unpredictable plot, in a good way!

Haha yeah I put the list in order of preference, so Pandemonium had to be my number one! I have quite different opinions about each book in the series :S maybe I shouldn’t have listed them in order of favourites…

Love your list! A Million Suns is way better than AtU. Can’t wait to read Shades of Earth! Yes to John Green, esp PT! and I hear you on Requiem. Man, I want to burn that book series, when I finished that one. So very frustrating.